Sharkas: The financial awareness platform is a pioneering step to enhance financial culture and inclusion in Jordan.

Al-Salem: The platform is a step forward in promoting financial inclusion and achieving economic development.

Al-Shami: Financial inclusion is fundamental for sustainable development and reducing poverty and unemployment.

Al-Mahrouq: The platform is a comprehensive national project to address financial challenges and enhance economic inclusion, targeting all segments of society.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, Dr. Adel Sharkas, launched the first of its kind platform in Jordan for promoting financial awareness, the Financial Awareness Promotion Platform (FinApp.jo), at the headquarters of the Association of Banks in Jordan. The event was attended by Kuwaiti Ambassador to Jordan Hamed Rashid Al-Mari, the President of the Association of Banks in Jordan, Basem Al-Salem, along with several bank leaders and directors, and a large group of financial sector professionals.

The platform, through its website (FinApp.jo) and applications available on both Android and iOS, aims to enhance financial awareness and culture across all segments of Jordanian society. The platform is a leading national initiative launched by the Association in collaboration with a distinguished group of partners, including the Central Bank of Jordan, the Crown Prince Foundation, the International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Women, the Arab Planning Institute of Kuwait, INJAZ, and the German Sparkassenstiftung (Jordan).

The Association emphasized that this initiative responds to the growing need for improving financial understanding and empowering individuals to make informed financial decisions. During the event, short videos were shown highlighting the importance of financial literacy, particularly in light of rapid economic transformations. The Association of Banks in Jordan aims to achieve a qualitative shift in spreading financial knowledge as part of its commitment to supporting financial stability and economic development in Jordan.

In his speech, Governor Dr. Adel Sharkas expressed his appreciation to the Association of Banks in Jordan for organizing the launch event of the Financial Awareness Promotion Platform, which aims to spread financial literacy and enhance awareness among individuals and companies. He confirmed that the platform represents a strategic step toward advancing financial culture by providing high-quality content and innovative educational tools.

Sharkas also noted that the platform reflects the ongoing efforts of Jordanian banks and the Central Bank of Jordan to promote community financial culture and enhance financial inclusion. He explained that financial literacy is fundamental to understanding and managing financial matters effectively, contributing to inclusive and sustainable growth for both individuals and society.

Dr. Sharkas highlighted the launch of the first National Financial Inclusion Strategy in 2017, the first of its kind in the Arab world, which focused on digital financial services, microfinance, financial education, and consumer protection. The strategy successfully met its objectives, including reducing the gender gap in financial access from 53% to 22%, surpassing its targets.

Dr. Sharkas also presented the second National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2023-2028), which includes new concepts such as savings, insurance, payments, transfers, and financing, aiming to further enhance financial inclusion and services. He stressed that savings have become a core component of this strategy, aiming to develop savings products that assist consumers in making sound financial plans and coping with emergencies.

The new strategy aims to raise the financial inclusion rate in Jordan to 65% by 2028, reduce the gender gap in financial accounts from 20% to 15%, and achieve an annual 6% increase in financial facilities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Sharkas also mentioned the launch of a financial literacy program in schools in 2015, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and INJAZ, which included integrating financial literacy curricula from grades 7 to 12 and training teachers on modern teaching methods. The program covers advanced topics such as savings, investment, responsible consumption, digital services, entrepreneurship, and e-commerce.

He concluded by reaffirming that promoting financial literacy and financial inclusion are key parts of the Central Bank’s vision to build an aware financial community capable of facing economic challenges and achieving sustainable development.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Association of Banks in Jordan, Basem Khalil Al-Salem, expressed his happiness with the launch of the Financial Awareness Promotion Platform, calling it a pioneering initiative aimed at enhancing financial knowledge among various segments of society. He emphasized that the platform aligns with the Association’s vision to build an aware and balanced financial community capable of facing contemporary economic challenges, ultimately improving the financial well-being of all sectors.

In his speech at the launch, Al-Salem stated: “The close relationship between financial literacy and financial inclusion directly contributes to empowering individuals and small businesses to engage in the formal financial system. Increased financial awareness helps reduce the informal economy, enhances transparency, and opens broader avenues for inclusive development.”

Al-Salem commended the Central Bank of Jordan’s significant role in advancing financial inclusion in Jordan, referring to the achievements of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, which raised financial inclusion rates from 31.1% to 50%. He also praised the launch of the new financial inclusion strategy for 2023-2028, aimed at improving access to financial services and increasing their usage inclusively.

He added, “We cannot overlook the joint efforts between the Central Bank and banks in Jordan in promoting financial literacy, including the school financial literacy project and various awareness campaigns. The Central Bank also achieved a global milestone by winning the Maya Declaration Award, granted by the Financial Inclusion Alliance, in recognition of its leadership in enhancing financial inclusion.”

Al-Salem concluded by acknowledging the strong support provided by the banks operating in Jordan in promoting financial literacy, highlighting their role as key partners in all initiatives aimed at enhancing financial culture, either through funding awareness projects or active participation in community events.

For his part, Dr. Maher Al-Mahrouq, the Director General of the Association of Banks in Jordan, affirmed that the launch of the Financial Awareness Promotion Platform represents a comprehensive and integrated response to the economic and social challenges faced by individuals and various business sectors in Jordan. He added that this platform is the result of years of continuous efforts aimed at building a strong financial culture that empowers both individuals and the community.

Dr. Al-Mahrouq explained that the rationale behind launching this platform stems from a series of key challenges faced by Jordanian society, including weak financial literacy indicators, widespread financial and digital illiteracy, poor personal financial planning, and obstacles faced by youth, entrepreneurs, and women in understanding and managing financial resources efficiently.

He pointed out that the platform is not an isolated initiative but part of a long-standing effort to raise financial awareness, starting with the financial literacy project in schools, which was a collaboration between the Central Bank, banks, and INJAZ. This effort continued through regional awareness campaigns targeting various groups, including more than 600 women entrepreneurs last year alone.

Regarding the long-term strategy to enhance financial inclusion, Dr. Al-Mahrouq stated that the platform is a fundamental pillar in supporting the Economic Modernization Vision, which is a roadmap to sustainable development in Jordan. He emphasized that the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, launched by the Central Bank last year, formed the framework for this work, especially regarding improving the quality of financial services and products, consumer financial protection, and empowering individuals to make more informed financial decisions.

Dr. Al-Mahrouq highlighted that the efforts went beyond building the platform to include the development of an educational curriculum for financial literacy, which is being implemented in collaboration with Al-Hussein Technical University as the first phase, aiming to make it available online and for free. The goal is to make it an optional university requirement to expand the base of beneficiaries among academic and youth sectors.

On the topic of supporting entrepreneurship and empowering women and youth, Dr. Al-Mahrouq emphasized the platform’s importance in supporting entrepreneurs and empowering women and youth, noting that weak financial skills are one of the main barriers faced by entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He confirmed that the platform provides tools and knowledge to help them improve their financial and managerial skills, contributing to the sustainability of their projects and increasing their contribution to the national economy.

Dr. Al-Mahrouq added that there is an interest in developing financial technology concepts on the platform, with a particular focus on this aspect due to its increasing importance in shaping the future of financial services, especially for youth and aligning with the needs of the new generations.

He explained that this aspect highlights technological developments in the banking sector and how to leverage them to improve the efficiency and reach of advanced financial services.

Dr. Al-Mahrouq affirmed that the platform represents a model of joint institutional work, where the Association of Banks, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Jordan, banks, and several international and local organizations, has built a comprehensive framework for spreading financial culture. He noted that the Central Bank’s directives in this regard were the decisive factor in the success of the project, with the Association being entrusted with a central role and a wide range of activities to promote financial inclusion.

He further added that the Board of Directors of the Association of Banks in Jordan played an important role in supporting the project and adopting it as part of the Association’s strategy to enhance financial inclusion, with banks effectively contributing to the funding and implementation of various awareness activities.

H.E Dr. Abdullah Al-Shami, the Director General of the Arab Planning Institute in Kuwait, stressed the importance of financial inclusion in improving access to appropriate and affordable financial services and products, thus enhancing the banking sector’s ability to attract savings and expand financial services to include all segments of society.

Al-Shami, in his speech, noted that enhancing financial inclusion plays a pivotal role in meeting both consumption and production needs, contributing to the reduction of poverty and unemployment rates, especially among youth.

He added that financial inclusion has become a core component of sustainable development goals, directly contributing to achieving seven of them. However, Al-Shami observed that financial inclusion levels in many Arab countries remain below desired levels, particularly in rural and marginalized areas, due to challenges such as low financial and cultural awareness among individuals, along with other economic and social factors.

Al-Shami explained that low financial awareness leads to poor resource management, lower savings and investment rates, and inadequate future planning, exposing individuals to financial exploitation and negatively impacting living standards and quality of life. Nationally, he added, this lack of awareness weakens overall savings and investment rates, limiting the effectiveness of economic policies aimed at combating poverty and enhancing development.

He further confirmed that the deficiency in financial awareness extends beyond individuals to entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, requiring concerted efforts from all relevant stakeholders to enhance this awareness.

In conclusion, Al-Shami emphasized the importance of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises due to their vital role in increasing total production and creating job opportunities. He also highlighted their role in easing the burden on the public sector, reducing unemployment rates, enhancing exports, and reducing dependency on imports, ultimately positively impacting the balance of payments and comprehensive economic development.

Regarding the platform’s structure and future objectives, Dr. Al-Mahrouq explained that it consists of four main sections: the first provides detailed information about the banking sector, offering a simplified and comprehensive explanation of banking services; the second focuses on financial literacy, offering concepts and educational tools to help individuals improve their financial capabilities.

The third section is about entrepreneurship, providing content to support entrepreneurs and help them sustain their projects. The final section is about financial technology, shedding light on technological advancements and how to leverage them to enhance financial services.

Dr. Al-Mahrouq concluded by emphasizing that all content on the platform is free and aims to achieve real financial inclusion by targeting all societal segments, including youth, employees, women entrepreneurs, and retirees. He noted that this effort is part of a national vision to promote sustainable development and economic justice.

 

 

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